NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co said it expects to post a $3 billion first-quarter profit, sending its shares soaring, lifting a wide range of stocks, and providing a welcome jolt to the troubled banking sector.
In morning trading, shares of the fourth-largest U.S. bank were up $3.90, or 26.2 percent, at $18.79. The KBW Bank Index jumped 10.5 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 2.8 percent.
Wells Fargo's preliminary results, announced 13 days early, provide evidence that lenders engaged in traditional banking activities may handle the recession better than many analysts and investors expect.
The San Francisco-based bank is also one of the biggest U.S. mortgage lenders, and three months ago bought its struggling larger rival Wachovia Corp for $12.5 billion. It said Wachovia has performed better than expected.
"In this terrible environment, to exceed on the upside is going to raise the bar pretty high," said Matt McCormick, a banking analyst at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati.
In morning trading, shares of the fourth-largest U.S. bank were up $3.90, or 26.2 percent, at $18.79. The KBW Bank Index jumped 10.5 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 2.8 percent.
Wells Fargo's preliminary results, announced 13 days early, provide evidence that lenders engaged in traditional banking activities may handle the recession better than many analysts and investors expect.
The San Francisco-based bank is also one of the biggest U.S. mortgage lenders, and three months ago bought its struggling larger rival Wachovia Corp for $12.5 billion. It said Wachovia has performed better than expected.
"In this terrible environment, to exceed on the upside is going to raise the bar pretty high," said Matt McCormick, a banking analyst at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati.
Source: Yahoo News
No comments:
Post a Comment